Laying hens with "water belly" or "ascites"?

[chicknmania]

We can't get flubenvet in the US, but I have Levasol I dewormed the flock with today, and I'd been using Fenben suspension on the caged birds. But it did not seem to be working very well, so I have switched to another dewormer for the birds in hospital. We also have Rooster Booster dewormer that I used a lot earlier in spring, but the problem with it is that some birds won't eat it, or don't eat enough of it. We have the same problem...our birds are on the same ground a lot of the time, depending on the weather.

 

[chicknmania]

It's weird as her fluid seems to be decreasing. Hope I'm not jinxing anything by mentioning it.....

 

[chicknmania]

I'm so very sorry to hear about bluebell poor little girl. I'm just worming my flocks at the moment. I use flubenvet and buy the pellets that are already medicated with it. I worm them four times a year as they are on the same ground.
It's difficult to know what to do about poor Bitsy

it's a lot of money. My vets fees were about £50, for the consultation and a six month script, all they did was listen to her chest, and basically agree with my own diagnosis. They said they thought it was her heart but quite honestly I don't think they had a clue.
I wouldn't want to see her on her own either

If her underlying problem is a tumor though and you think her time is limited I would have a go at draining her myself. Did you do her once already ?
When I did Boots I followed Kathy's instructions on the site and it worked brilliantly.
Either way, if she's well enough I would gradually reintroduce her so she has company. Maybe she could have her milk thistle as a dose rather than in her food ? I don't know much about it.

Boots is good so far. She did have a spell while we were adjusting her medication when she looked ill and unhappy. I was trying to give her as little as possible while controlling the fluid but now I've increased her dose to 0.2 ml each day which keeps the fluid off completely and she's in full on Boots mode, tail up and into everyone's business. She's been on her medication for a month now. I don't know how much time she'll have at the end of all this as I don't really know the cause. All I can say is that the medication worked very well for her. Her comb is still a bright bright red almost comical bright red so the underlying factors are still there ( is that a liver thing ? Not sure..) but a month later she's bombing about so it was worth it.

Again so sorry about bluebell.
I named one of my babies after her today.

Love and hugs x

So nice that you named a baby after her. When I buried her today I told her she'd start a whole new life in a whole new country. May baby Bluebell live long and prosper.

 

[Shabana]

Baby bluebell is very naughty and has always got her beak into everything.
I told her she was named after a very great chicken and that she has very big boots to fill. She looked directly at me for a second or two and I thought 'she understands' then she knicked off with my strawberry...
Chickens worm their way into your heart with their comical ways and antics. I will always think of bluebell now and that seems fitting.

Hope Bitsy is doing ok.

Much love x

 

[chicknmania]

Baby bluebell is very naughty and has always got her beak into everything.
I told her she was named after a very great chicken and that she has very big boots to fill. She looked directly at me for a second or two and I thought 'she understands' then she knicked off with my strawberry...
Chickens worm their way into your heart with their comical ways and antics. I will always think of bluebell now and that seems fitting.

Hope Bitsy is doing ok.

Much love x

That's a funny story.

Bitsy was almost entirely without fluid this morning, it's weird how it comes and goes. I can't figure out if there are causes that make it more or less. Apparently not that I can see. What breed is Bluebell ll?

 

[Shabana]

She's a porcelain sablepoot but she's 'blue-er'. Her beak is blue too. I will take a pic of her today.
She's very pretty.
I'm glad to hear about bitsy. I've no idea why it comes and goes but I'm glad it's going at the moment. Perhaps the milk thistle is working.
Xx

 

[chicknmania]

it's weird. I don't know if it's the Milkthistle. I reduced it to once a day because she was making it obvious she didn't like it. Anyway, I started her on Zyfend in her water, it's an herbal supplement supposed to help with overall health during worm infestations, and I figured it wouldn't hurt her, just wanted to see.. It's got yucca and citrus extracts in it. Anyway....her fluid is shrinking even more after three days on that stuff. Now it's confined to a small pocket of fluid at her extreme rear, basically around her vent. She is still way too skinny, so obviously there's a problem somewhere, but her appetite is excellent. She is now eating dry feed and grain where she wasn't able to until about a week ago,. I was just giving her mostly mash before. I have no idea why this is happening, really. Afraid to hope too much, but I am happy to see her enjoying life as much as possible and eating and pooping normally. And other wise acting normal. The only thing she doesn't do is get up on higher perches, which she used to do. She stays pretty low to the ground. My goal is to just see the fluid disappear as much as possible, and then let her out for a while, to see how she does. I know we haven't figured out the root problem, but it would be nice to see her getting a chance to free range with the flock, while she still can. If she gets fluid accumulation again, I think I can catch her fairly easily.

 

[chicknmania]

And just to clarify, way back when this first started, I wondered if worms might be the cause, so I had a fecal done on her, and she tested negative. But still I wonder.....

Anyway, looking forward to seeing Baby B!

 

[farmerpookie]

This is Fanny, she has gotten huge! It's so hard to watch! Since there's no cure is it most humane to put her down? Or should I be draining the fluid to keep her comfortable or the rest of her life?

 

[Murphyslaw123]

Yes. At that point, the most humane thing you can do is to put her out of her misery. I just did the same last week to my second RIR with the same condition. I'm so sorry. It's awful to watch.